This blog is dedicated to sharing the adventures of my children and their friends during their service as missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, while educating those who are interested in the beliefs and practices of the Mormon people. This site is not an official site or an affiliate site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Please also visit Mormon.org or LDS.org.

Friday, May 17, 2013

Super Fun and Super Busy! - Sister Lindsey Jeppson

FAMILY -- THANK YOU, THANK YOU, for sending my companion that package and writing her!! (She is from Tonga and doesn't get very many letters or packages). She totally burst into tears when she got it. All week she's been telling me how amazing my family is. Brycen, she is absolutely in love with you. She tells me how cute you are. And she's been working on a letter just for you. She'll send it today, and you'll probably get it on Tuesday. (NOTE: (Brycen wrote her a letter and told her that he LOVES Tongan's and wants to be a Tongan. He asked her if we could come and visit her there when she gets back from her mission).

YEAH!! Braden, congrats on getting your license. That is so, so, so exciting. Mind the speed limit!!! Obey the rules. Exact obedience brings miracles :) You'll love Merrell!! Make sure you tell him I'm your sister!! (Merrell was one of Lindsey's favorite teachers at Herriman High School, and Braden has him for Financial Literature next year).

DAD, where's my letter??? Letters are not a mother's responsibility... I'm expecting one from you. P.S. It's probably not a good idea to make a missionary mad :)

So, on Tuesday we have devotionals. Guess who spoke!?!? Elder Russel M. Nelson. We sang in the choir. We sang "Come thou Fount of Every Blessing." It was amazing!! He talked a lot about missionary work (of course), and how the ancestors of our investigators on the other side of the veil will be with us.

He also stressed how this is the Lord's work, and we have the privilege of representing him. So we should focus less on ourselves and MORE on the Savior. I really feel that it is a privilege to be a missionary. I've only been out for a month, and SOOOO much has happened, and I have changed SOOO much. Elder Nelson also referenced his talk from the October 2012 General Conference. He said, "I told the whole world to ask the missionaries if they need help. Well, Elders and Sisters, that is you. Don't make me a liar." That's not exactly what he said, but basically.

On Sunday in Relief Society, Janice Kapp Perry spoke to us!! It was super amazing. She talked a lot about the importance of music. We sang a medley of her songs. The spirit was so strong. Anytime temptations come, or bad thoughts come into your mind, think of a Primary song. It goes away!!

She also showed us a new song that she wrote. OH MY, it was the best thing ever. She took the music of "As Sisters in Zion" and added new lyrics relating entirely to sister missionaries. The song is called, "The Sisters of Zion". I can't remember the lyrics, but we were officially the first ones to sing it!! I cried so hard!! Look it up if you can! I'm not sure if you can find it yet, but I'm sure you'll be able to find it sometime in the next 18 months. Great, great song.

This week has been similar to a roller coaster...some parts great and some parts humbling. We now have five investigators, plus we do something called TRC (Teaching Resource Center). TRC is when volunteers from the community come and we give them a short message (in Spanish, of course). Because there are so many missionaries, we started Skyping. That was cool. We taught a girl who lived in Texas. Lots and lots of teaching. And it's kind of difficult because I can understand more of what the investigator is saying, but my companion can not. She is struggling a little bit, but hey, we all are. These experiences are so valuable.

Anyway, our teacher, Hermano Arnold, is our investigator Juan. He is married and has two kids. Usually we just teach him. But, this week we go to teach him and he has three pieces of paper with his family member's names on them on three chairs. HE WANTED US TO TEACH HIS PAPER FAMILY! I lost it (LOL!)! I could not do it. (I'll send a picture).

This week, since we've been here for four weeks, we got to host all the new missionaries. It was pretty cool to be on the other side of things. I hosted four sisters. Three are going in the states, so they'll only be here for two weeks. The other one is going to Hong Kong. It was awesome to be able to do some service and help them out. Some of the sisters looked so scared and overwhelmed. I just wanted to hug them and say, "It gets better, I promise!"

Half our zone leaves in the next few days. It is so sad because we have all grown so close. Next week my district leaves. Then, I leave the following week. It is so weird to think that we will probably not see each other again. It is so sad

I am so glad everything is going well for you! Thank you for all your support and prayers. I feel them. I love you all!!!